Asking a TA for a letter instead of the Professor

[dancingdoctor13]

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Hi

I was wondering what the opinion is to ask a TA (who's getting a phd) for a class that had 300 students in it for a letter of lrec instead of the actual professor? My TA got to know me really well, (I visited my prof one day, he's 76 years old so honestly don't think he would ever remember me), do you know whether the schools will take a TA letter as legit if they write a truly good letter on my behalf, or does it simply not cut it?

 

[lovemesomeTJ]

I'm sure I've seen posts on this, and I'm pretty sure that the answer is going to be that this is not a good idea, that the letter needs to be at least signed by the professor. So if your TA wants to work with your professor, write the letter her/himself and have the professor sign it, then it might be okay. Other than that, you really need to forge a relationship with the professor and have his/her signature if nothing else. Degrees matter, not degrees in progress.

 

[apumic]

I'm sure I've seen posts on this, and I'm pretty sure that the answer is going to be that this is not a good idea, that the letter needs to be at least signed by the professor. So if your TA wants to work with your professor, write the letter her/himself and have the professor sign it, then it might be okay. Other than that, you really need to forge a relationship with the professor and have his/her signature if nothing else. Degrees matter, not degrees in progress.

Yes. This is definitely an Use The Search Function question. That having been said, you're right. Even degrees completed aren't enough to make a person able to write an LOR. I have some nice letters behind my name and I teach labs (and was a TA for quite some time) but I would never write an LOR for a student to go to med school/grad school/dental school because my letter would carry very little (read: no) weight. I might write a letter for an employer under very specific circumstances or act as a reference but writing an LOR for professional school admissions is a definite no-no.

 

[FrozenTexan]

I'd echo the same thing, I've had several students ask me to write a letter of rec, and I'll tell them that it's not the best idea. Not only because of how the committees would look at a TA writing it, but also, TA's haven't written a lot of letters to begin with. If it's possible, I'd ask a professor

Either way,
Good Luck

 

[chickensandwich]

i had this issue since i went to a huge public undergrad. the general info i got from schools/my profs and tas were that if your class was taught ONLY by a grad student (this happens a lot more often for humanities classes), then it would be acceptable if they were the only name on the letter. if your class had both a grad student and a professor, the grad student can write it but the professor should be on there as a co-signer. of course, check for your individual schools, but it makes sense to get the professor if there is one.

 

[heyyouyouyou]

does the TA have a PhD? Will he/she have one by the end of this semester? If so, I think that its do-able... Just be sure to not mention that he/she was your 'TA' in the letter...

 

[da8s0859q]

I'm sure I've seen posts on this, and I'm pretty sure that the answer is going to be that this is not a good idea ...

This. I was a TA for awhile, and I usually opted to not write letters when asked for this reason. I wouldn't have minded writing the letter, but I didn't imagine that my letter would be as useful as one from a faculty member, so I always told them exactly that. Didn't wanna semi-slight anyone.

 

[twentyten]

I actually had one of my science letters written by a TA and signed by one of four professors who taught the class, and it did not end up being an issue for me at all. But I might have just been lucky that it didn't affect me negatively.

I think you should listen to the general consensus that your best option is to get a letter from a professor who knows you well and will write a strong letter of recommendation. You should also go talk to your pre-med advisor if you have one at your disposal and see what he/she says -- most likely, he/she will agree with the other posters in this thread. Good luck!